San Benito
&
amp; Gilroy face off in CCS quarters for last word
Hollister – Gilroy won the first one. San Benito ruled the second matchup.
But today’s meeting between the two Tri-County Athletic League softball rivals in the quarterfinals of the Central Coast Section Division I softball playoffs is the most important.
Today’s game between the Haybalers and Mustangs will not only break the tie for the season, but also decide which team gets to stay in the hunt for a CCS championship. The two teams take the field No. 3 at the Salinas Sports Complex at 10:30am.
On paper, the Haybalers (26-3) are the favorites. Seeded third in the tournament behind Lynbrook and Carlmont, they have won 17 of their last 18 games and earned a first-round bye.
Gilroy (15-9) earned a No. 6 seed in the tournament and advanced to today’s game by defeating 11th-seeded Mt. Pleasant 4-0 Wednesday.
But in the playoffs, the numbers tend not to matter. What will matter, according to Gilroy head coach Catherine Hallada, is who scores first.
“I have told the girls that we basically need to score in the first two innings and get on top right away,” Hallada said.
That strategy worked for the Mustangs in the season’s first meeting with the ‘Balers. Gilroy came away with a 2-0 win, accounting for one of San Benito’s three losses on the season. In the second meeting, it was the ‘Balers who got out to the early lead and eventually won 6-3 on April 21.
“In the second game, we didn’t do anything,” Hallada said.
Part of the reason may have been the strong pitching of ‘Baler ace Marissa Ibarra, who pitched a complete game seven-hitter. The freshman leads the area with 21 wins in the circle. And if the rest of the season is any indication of who will take the circle in today’s game, it is likely that San Benito head coach Scott Smith – who could not be reached for comment – will start Ibarra.
“I think she’s very intimidating to a lot of teams,” said Hallada of Ibarra. “She’s young and has got a lot of years ahead of her.”
For Gilroy, Hallada will be going with Sonoma State-bound senior pitcher Sarah Villar (12-5), who faced the ‘Balers in the two other games and picked up the win against Mt. Pleasant.
The Mustangs will still be without three starters, catcher Brittany Balanesi, outfielder Liz Ines and third baseman Amanda Tellez, as they were in the opening round. But in the absence of those players, others on the Gilroy squad have stepped up, including freshman Jasmine Perez. Perez smacked a three-run home run in the sixth inning of Gilroy’s first-round game against Mt. Pleasant to break a 0-0 tie and help Gilroy to the win.
“I hope what we did in the sixth inning (against Mt. Pleasant), we do in the first inning (against San Benito),” Hallada laughed. “Our pitching was on and our hitting slowly came through. It was a good first-round CCS game and I hope it carries into the second round.”
